Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, nicknamed Caligula ‘little boot’ as a child, was the third emperor of Rome, and is one of the most infamous of them, of all time. Caligula was a shocking ruler who supposedly put the Roman population through a large amount of suffering, and whose reign turned from saviour of the people, to crazed, power hungry ruler. There is no doubt Gaius was a substandard ruler but many contemporary sources’ accounts of him paint him as mentally ill, murderous tyrant, rife with intent to break the Roman world to pieces, when in fact he may not have been. This view of Caligula convinced historians right up into the 19th century but now, as more facts are considered, the conception of him has been changed as it it becomes more obvious that these sources may be quite subjective.
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus
There is no doubt Gaius was a substandard ruler but many contemporary sources’ accounts of him paint him as mentally ill, murderous tyrant, rife with intent to break the Roman world to pieces, when in fact he may not have been.